Tomb of Dracula

Vlad Dracula, who had been bloodthirsty in life, became more so in death. Born as a prince of Wallachia, he grew into a fierce warrior given to impaling his enemies on stakes. This cruel practice earned him the name “Vlad the Impaler.” Eventually Dracula’s army was defeated and he was mortally wounded. He was taken to a gypsy woman to be healed, but little did anyone know that, in reality, the woman was a vampire. Three days after his lifeless body was buried, Dracula rose again as a vampire.

Tomb of Dracula was a remarkable horror comic which enjoyed a long and well-deserved run. Written by Marv Wolfman (hmm…) and featuring the distinctive art of Gene Colan, it was a great example of a horror comic done right. The plots were dark, but not obsessive, and the characters were well-developed. Ultimately, it was hard to know whether to cheer for Dracula’s assailants, or to hope he triumphed again to bring horror to next month’s issue.